Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidency

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How many times was FDR elected President of the United States ? Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States four times: 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. Prior to the third-term election of 1940, it was a presidential tradition set by George Washington that presidents only held the office for two terms. As a result of FDR's unprecedented four terms, the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1951, limiting all future presidents to two elected terms.

When was FDR first inaugurated as President of the United States ? FDR was first inaugurated as 32nd President on March 4, 1933. The date of March 4 was set by the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Effective in 1937, however, the presidential inauguration date was changed to January 20 by the 20th Amendment.

Who were FDR's Vice Presidents? FDR had three Vice-Presidents during his four terms in office: John Nance Garner of Texas (March 4, 1933 - January 20, 1941), Henry Agard Wallace of Iowa (January 20, 1941 - January 20, 1945), and Harry S. Truman of Missouri (January 20, 1945 - April 12, 1945).

Who were FDR's Cabinet Officers? FDR's Cabinet Officers were as follows:

What were fireside chats and how many did FDR make during his presidency? When FDR became president in 1933, he believed that the best way to comfort and inform the public about his administration and its policies was to address them on the radio. He considered it most effective to talk to the people as if he had joined them in their living rooms or kitchens for a relaxed, informal conversation about one or two specific topics. The term "Fireside Chat" was not coined by FDR, but rather was used by a reporter to describe FDR's speech of May 7, 1933. The term was quickly adopted throughout the media and by FDR. There was no solid definition as to what constituted a Fireside Chat. As a result, there is some dispute as to the total number of Fireside Chats that FDR delivered.

The following is a list of the thirty-one speeches that have been identified as Fireside Chats:

* WH= White House HP= Hyde Park

1. On the Bank Crisis (March 12, 1933) WH

2. Outlining the New Deal Program (May 7, 1933) WH

3. First Hundred Days: The Purposes and Foundations of the Recovery Program (July 24, 1933) WH

4. The Currency Situation (October 22, 1933) WH

5. Review of the Achievements of the Seventy-third Congress (June 28, 1934) WH

28. State of the Union: National Service and Economic Bill of Rights (January 11, 1944) WH

29. The Capture of Rome (June 5, 1944) WH

30. Launching the Fifth War Loan Drive (June 12, 1944) WH

31. Fireside Chat (Abridged) Version of Message to Congress on Return from Yalta Conference: Work-or-Fight and Vision for the United Nations (January 6, 1945) WH

Did women play a significant part in FDR's administrations? During FDR's presidency, women were appointed to positions that were unprecedented in terms of both number of appointments as well as rank in the United States government.

The following is a list of some of the "firsts" achieved by women during the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt:

Frances Perkins, New York: First woman member of a President's Cabinet. Secretary of Labor.

Ruth Bryan Owen Rohde, New York and Florida: First woman U.S Minister. She was U.S. Minister to Denmark and Iceland (1933). (Daughter of William Jennings Bryan)

J. Borden Harriman, District of Columbia: First woman U.S. Minister to Norway (1937).

Josephine Schain, New York: First woman to be named on any United Nations Conference. Served as U.S. Delegate to U.N. Conference of Food and Agriculture.

What was the Good Neighbor Policy? The Good Neighbor Policy was the common name (first expressed in the First Inaugural Address in 1933) for FDR's foreign policy with regard to Latin America. Under the new policy, the United States pledged that it would treat Latin American nations with respect and avoid intervening in their foreign and domestic affairs.

The goal of the policy was to strengthen the United States economy by increasing trade with Latin America. A necessary prerequisite to increased trade was the improvement of political relations with those countries and the assurance that the United States would no longer interfere in the affairs of its neighbors. As a by-product of the policy, all Latin American countries eventually joined the United States in the war against the Axis Powers.

What was FDR's role in establishing the United Nations? Even as the United States was moving closer to war, FDR began to formulate his ideas for a post-war world. FDR first discussed a "family of nations" with Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Atlantic Charter conference in August 1941. In January 1942, representatives of 26 nations met in Washington, DC and signed the United Nations Declaration that pledged to win the war against the Axis Powers. FDR suggested the name "United Nations" for the group, and in October 1943 he sent representatives to Moscow to begin preliminary discussions with their counterparts from the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and China about the structure of a world political organization.

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, FDR, Churchill and Premier Stalin of the Soviet Union agreed that the "Big Five" nations (United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France and China) would be permanent members of a United Nations Security Council, a special committee with powers to keep the peace. The leaders also agreed to call a conference in San Francisco, California on April 25, 1945 to prepare a Charter for the new organization. FDR planned to attend the opening of the San Francisco Conference, but he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, on April 12, 1945. Despite this loss, the San Francisco Conference reached final agreement, and delegates from fifty nations signed the Charter on June 26, 1945.

On October 24, 1945 the Big Five plus one-half of the other nations had ratified the Charter, and the United Nations was officially born.

Was there ever an assassination attempt on FDR? There was never an assassination attempt on FDR after he was inaugurated President of the United States. However, after the presidential election of 1932, and before the inauguration in March 1933, FDR nearly lost his life to an assassin's bullet.

On February 15, 1933, FDR was in Miami, Florida at a public rally accompanied by Anton Cermak, the Mayor of Chicago. Joseph Zangara, a thirty-three year old disillusioned Italian immigrant jumped onto a park bench and fired four shots towards FDR's car. FDR was not hit, but Mayor Cermak was wounded mortally and died a few weeks later.

The public and press hailed FDR's courage in refusing to allow his driver to leave the scene before first attending to the wounded Mayor Cermak and driving him to the hospital. Zangara later stated that he did not hate FDR personally, but rather he hated all government officials and all rich people no matter from which country they came. Zangara was executed for the murder of Mayor Cermak.

FDR Library

Mission Statement

The Library's mission is to foster research and education on the life and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and their continuing impact on contemporary life. Our work is carried out by four major areas: Archives, Museum, Education and Public Programs.